MANILA, Philippines—Boxing king Manny Pacquiao on Monday night defended his decision to join the Nacionalista Party, saying President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s term was ending and he had to look for another candidate for president to support in the May election.

Pacquiao, running for the congressional seat in Sarangani province, spoke to the Inquirer at an NP meeting in Mandaluyong City where he and party standard-bearer Sen. Manny Villar signed an agreement to support each other’s candidacies.

“I did not turn my back on Ma’am (Ms Arroyo) but her term is ending ... I have to support another president,” Pacquiao said in Filipino.

Asked how Ms Arroyo reacted to his decision, he said: “Nothing. We all have to make decisions of our own.”

Pacquiao was a former member of Ms Arroyo’s Kampi party.

Pacquiao arrived two hours late for the NP meeting, accompanied by his wife Jinkee, who wore a body-hugging red blouse and denim pants.